Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
The dancers at Rogue Valley Square Dance Center on Table Rock Road are excited. It’s 6:30 on a Wednesday evening, and an enthusiastic older gentleman at an advanced square dancing workshop is so excited he’s hopping around even before the music and calling starts. Wayne Weaver, caller extraordinaire, steps on the stage and leads a set of calls and dances. He leads four couples who are arranged in a square, with one couple on each of the four sides facing the middle. He works his “calls,” that is
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
More evacuations have been ordered in Josephine County as crews battling the Garner Complex face a third day of red flag fire warnings. The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office placed on Level 3 “Go” evacuation notice just after 2 p.m. Saturday all residences on West Pickett Creek Road, Greentree Loop, Brickford Drive, Sanders Creek, Paradise Garden Road, Sallsten Road, Hussey Lane, Steelhead Lane, Cliffside Drive, Bartlett Lane along with property between 5415 and 6187 Riverbanks Road — including
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
If you think we’ve had a horrible run of fire years recently, turn back the clock to the 1930s and it would have rivaled the early 2000s. “The 1930s had the highest number of fires,” said Bill Kuhn, ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service. “We’ve had the second-highest number this past decade.” The size of fires has been steadily increasing over the past few decades, Kuhn said. In the 1930s, there were more reports of fires, though many weren’t large and the reporting wasn’t as accurate, he said.
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
A mysterious poll that posed outlandish questions about the two Senate District 3 candidates has irked a number of local residents who responded to political survey calls recently. “I was shocked at the questions,” said outgoing Sen. Alan DeBoer, R-Ashland, who has endorsed Jessica Gomez in the race for his seat. “They just tore Jessica apart.” DeBoer said he contacted Cathy Shaw, campaign manager for Gomez’ Democratic opponent, Jeff Golden, to verify she wasn’t behind the poll. After talking it
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
There’s been a lot of smoke around my place lately along with some falling ash. They tell me I’m in a level 1 evacuation area, and I don’t s’pose that’s a big deal, although some neighbors seem agitated. Not too far from me are folks in level 2, and slightly farther are level 3ers. The smoke isn’t all that bad except first thing in the morning. This time of the year I sleep with windows open, and as I start to stir before fully wakening I smell it. It smells different from an early-morning campf
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
Medford faces a $664,000 question: how should the city spend money from marijuana taxes? Putting it toward a new aquatics facility, more police or to plug gaps in retirement costs were among the ideas Medford’s Budget Committee mulled Thursday evening, but a decision as to how the revenue will be used was postponed to November. In the meantime, $664,576.85 awaits a destination. The figure consists of revenue from state marijuana taxes and a local 3 percent sales tax from June 1, 2017, through Ma
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
Felony arrests Vehicle Theft — Travis Michael Sallas, 29, of the 1100 block of Stevens Street, Medford. Oregon State Police troopers arrested Sallas Friday on a felony charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was later charged Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court with felony counts of first-degree criminal mischief, attempting to elude police in a vehicle, second-degree burglary, third-degree robbery and misdemeanor charges of possessing methamphetamine, hit-and-run, reckless driving,
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
I wondering if you can shed any light on the process of “chip seal?” Most routes in west Medford are covered with gravel, and I may not be the only one with a broken windshield! I am guessing it is not very favored by cyclists either. — J.C., via email We feel your pain, J.C. The chip seal project in west Medford is a dusty, gravelly mess, and the hot, smoky air makes it seem even worse. But Jackson County assures us they are saving a ton of money by using this technique to improve road surfaces
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
Gov. Kate Brown vowed Thursday to keep sending fire trucks and firefighters to Southern Oregon to combat the Garner Complex fire that was sparked by lightning July 15. Declared a conflagration by Brown July 21, the fire grew by 3,654 acres Thursday, expanding to 25,097 acres by Friday morning. The fire was 25 percent contained, according to an update from fire officials. “I’m doing everything in my power as governor to make sure all state resources are available,” she said at a press conference
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-29
We set off on a bright, cool morning laced with birdsong. The night before, we’d camped near Toketee Lake in the Umpqua National Forest, where we visited the famous (and satisfyingly hot, but somewhat begrimed) Umpqua Hot Springs. Now, we were bound for clearer waters. The clearest, in fact. After a beautiful drive on rural, two-lane highway that hugged the shoulder of the Rogue River and took us through dappled forest light, we swung northwest — and found a line of cars idling outside the Annie
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
Local company develops system for collecting data on cattle in the field The stage is set for HerdDogg to ride herd as a real-time data provider for beef and dairy producers. Armed with $2.3 million in venture capital, the three-year-old, Ashland-based firm founded by Melissa Brandao has not only ramped up production of its patented tracking system, but it is hiring a sales force to carve out a niche in the $1 trillion large-animal livestock industry. After years of pursuing electric farm utilit
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-29
This isn’t a humorous or pleasant story. It is not about happiness and festivities. It is about a time of persecution, depredation, discrimination and war. I know most people do not like to be reminded about the Second World War. I lived in the Netherlands, which in the past had been a safe haven for Jewish people — from the persecuted Spanish and Portuguese Jews who fled the Inquisition in the early 16th century, to the latest group to have reached our country, the German Jews escaping Nazi per
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-30
PHOENIX — With just nine acres of buildable residential land currently available, city officials worried earlier this year that reduced population growth projections might put a halt to expansion attempts. But figures recently revised upwards will allow the city to add more land for development. “They will likely be able to expand, maybe not quite as much as they wanted to,” said Josh LeBombard, Southern Oregon regional representative for the Department of Land Conservation and Development Commu
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-29
Felony arrests Burglary — Adam James Guenther, 28, no known address. Jackson County sheriff’s deputies arrested Guenther Thursday on additional felony charges of first-degree burglary and eight counts of first-degree theft. Eagle Point police originally arrested Guenther Tuesday on a Nevada fugitive warrant. He remained lodged in the Jackson County Jail Thursday without bail. Burglary — Jessy Ray Nuckolls, 28, of the 400 block of South Front Street, Central Point. Jackson County sheriff’s deputi
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-07-29
When trying to dissect and detect the meaning of a new word, there are certain helpful hints. Knowing small parts of words can help us put the whole together. We have looked before at just a few of the endless list of prefixes. Suffixes, or endings, are equally valuable. Noun suffixes can certainly lead us in interpretation. The suffix “-ist” means “one who” (geologist, individualist). If we add “-ism” to a word, it speaks of a state, quality or belief i
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-08-06
Songs that speak of experiences common to all people never get old. Melodies from bygone eras still play in the memories of older generations, waiting to be discovered by the young. Such is the case with The Kingston Trio, a folk music group that captured the hearts of millions of Americans over the past six decades. Camelot Theater will showcase the music of that iconic group with performances by a trio of local folk musicians, but this is not just another tribute band. One of the musicians — B
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-08-07
Jackson County planners have denied an application for a facility outside Eagle Point that would use ethanol to extract cannabidiol oil — a potential health aid — from industrial hemp. Backers of the project are appealing the denial and had their first appearance before Jackson County Hearings Officer Roger Pearce on Monday. Pearce will take up the issue again on Oct. 15 as backers work to address concerns raised by planning and fire officials. Recreational marijuana is now growing on the proper
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-08-07
Fires that continue to rage in Southern Oregon this summer have so far racked up a more than $135 million bill, about three-quarters of the dollars spent to battle fires throughout Oregon this season. Southern Oregon’s remote and rugged wilderness areas have made it particularly difficult to stamp out the 13 major local blazes, adding to the costs and setting the stage for one of the most expensive fire seasons in recent memory. “There’s a lot of country that doesn’t have any meaningful road sys
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-08-06
“Who wants to watch a show about women in prison? Isn’t it a bit too risqué?” — pretty much the questions asked by those who have not seen the show. Is it risqué? Sometimes. Is it about women in prison? Mostly, but it is so much more. Created by Jenji Kohan (“Weeds”) and produced exclusively for Netflix, “Orange is the New Black” has been a hit with viewers since 2013. The show itself is less about prison/lesbianism and more about character development that shows the humanity of the individuals
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)
· snapshot 2018-08-06
Police are asking for help locating the driver of a vehicle who struck a pedestrian and left the scene Saturday night on Highway 62 in White City. Oregon State Police troopers and emergency personnel responded to a report of a vehicle striking a pedestrian just before midnight Saturday on Highway 62 near Milepost 5. Investigation revealed that Jason Ziegler, 39, of Medford, was driving a 2004 Jeep Cherokee westbound when he struck a pedestrian, Ignacio Hernandez, 39, of Eugene, who was in the ro